"Fuck!" Rick exclaimed and leaned back in his rickety swivel chair where he sat at his desk in the garage. He had been working on a new device for days that would allow him to shapeshift with no luck. He stretched his arms up above his head and heard his back crack and pop before he reached into the side pocket of his white lab coat and grabbed his flask. He lifted it to his lips and threw his head back to gulp down a few mouthfuls of the warm liquid before whipping his hand across his mouth and putting it away. He'd been drinking more and more these days. Unable to deal with the years events.

"H- hits, the spot every time…" he muttered to no one and then leaned back over his desk to continue his work. "Come on R- Rick, you- you're the smartest man in the universe. How hard could it b- be?" He grumbled and then startled slightly when he heard a voice reply from behind him. "Apparently pretty hard considering you've been in here since Tuesday without a single break." Morty said from where he was leaning against the door to the garage with his arms crossed. "Jesus fuck Morty! What have I told you about sneaking up on me you li- little shit!" Rick exclaimed and turned to the boy with fake annoyance written plainly on his face. Rick had taken down governments, destroyed entire civilizations and invented things that God himself shouldn't have permitted to exist and yet an 18-year-old was able to sneak up on him from time to time. He couldn't comprehend how. He took in the sight of his grandson from where he was standing and noticed how tired he looked. There were dark circles under his normally bright green eyes and his curly brown hair was disheveled and sticking up in several directions. He even looked like he had lost some weight which was ridiculous considering he usually looked like a good gust of wind could knock him over anyways, but his appearance was no surprise to Rick anymore. He knew what had caused Morty to become this way.

"How you doin pipsqueak?" He said eyeing Morty up and down. A blush rose to the boy's cheeks and he rubbed the back of his neck defensively. "I'm fine. Just haven't been sleeping is all…" He muttered and then quickly changed the subject, walking over to Rick's desk and peering over his shoulder to glance at the project he was working on. "What have you been doing in here anyways?" He asked and Rick narrowed his eyes at him suspiciously but let the subject pass for the time being.

He knew what was causing his loss of sleep anyways. For a moment, Rick was taken back to a memory of finding Morty curled up in a ball in the corner of a filthy room. His clothes had been shredded to bits and for a moment, Rick thought he was dead. Until he heard the sobbing. He quickly shook his head to rid himself of the memory and focused on Morty once again. He had been waiting patiently for Rick to reply.

"Fucking nothing apparently." He finally replied to Morty's question and turned back to face his desk. "I do- don't know about this one Morty, guess I won't be able to- to turn into Bill Gates and collect all his riches after all." He said sarcastically and Morty snickered softly. Rick had to force back the smile that threatened to show on his face at the sound of his grandson's laughter. It was pretty rare to hear these days. "Couldn't you just, you know, teleport into the nearest bank and then teleport back with as much money as you wanted?" He asked with a smile and turned to sit on the edge of Rick's desk so that he was facing the man. Rick subtly backed up in his rolling chair to put some distance between the two of them. Morty didn't seem to notice the gesture. "Sure, but whe -urp- where's the fun in that Morty?" He joked and crossed his arms over his chest. Morty grinned, revealing his pearly white teeth. "Right, I forgot you're not like any sane person in the universe." He joked and kicked his legs back and forth as they did not touch the ground due to his shortness. Rick was struck with the sudden thought that Morty looked quite carefree in that moment but he knew it was only charade meant to put him at ease. "Being sa-urp-sane is over rated Morty. Having fun is much more important." He replied and Morty smiled softly at him. He wished he could cause that smile more often but he knew it wasn't that easy. Rick reached back into his coat for his flask at the thought and Morty watched him take a couple gulps from his flask. When he looked back up at Morty it was only to be met with an uncomfortable frown. Rick saw his sudden change in demeanor and rolled his eyes.

"Don't look at me like tha -urp- t Morty." He replied in the tone that meant 'don't push it.' Morty starred back at him and without skipping a beat said, "It's not your fault Rick." All the cheerfulness and laughter from a moment before disappeared from his voice. Rick turned his back to the boy and shook his head. "Don't. Don't start that." He said darkly but Morty pushed on.

"You can't keep blaming yourself. I Don't blame you Rick. The past can't be changed. We all have to live with what happened but you don't have to blame yourself." He said quietly but Rick wasn't having any of it. Suddenly he whipped around and without thinking snapped in anger. "You don't think I know that already Morty! You don't think I've tried and tried for the past year to find a way to turn back time so that I can fix this? To fix you!" he exclaimed and wished he could take it back instantly at the look on Morty's face. "Mo- Morty I didn't mean-." He stammered, but Morty interrupted him. "Fuck you Rick." He said quietly and then quickly hopped down from his spot on Rick's desk. A couple years ago, he wouldn't have dared talk to the scientist in the way that he just had but the past year had changed him. At this point, it was as if he didn't care about what Rick did in response were as before, he would have feared for his own safety. Rick's heart twisted painfully in his chest and he snarled softly under his breath in frustration as he watched the boy go. "Morty!" he called and stood up intending to go after him but Morty ripped the garage door open and slammed it shut behind him. Rick felt his energy drain and he slumped back down into his chair. He continued to stare at the door for a few more moments before letting out a frustrated sigh. The scientist turned back to his desk and ran his hands over his face and through his hair. For a moment, he sat in silence starring at nothing and wondering why he had been born to upset people. He thought about going after Morty but he knew he would just make things worse. Sometimes he needed a little space to himself. He shook his head and turned his attention back to the project on his desk.

Morty paused for a moment with his back against the garage door before growling in frustration and stomping of in the direction of the stairs. He took the steps two at a time and then disappeared quickly into his room before anyone else could see him. He didn't want to risk running into his mom, dad or sister in the chance that they might sense something was wrong with him and try to help. Ever since a year ago when his adventure with Rick had gone horribly wrong, his family had been treating him like a baby bird. His mom and sister would try their best to comfort Morty but all he saw was pity in their eyes and he hated it. Meanwhile, his dad had been taking every chance to avoid the boy. Morty couldn't blame him though. Jerry was clueless as to how to help so he stayed away. His mom and Summer were completely different. They were both biting at the chance to try and help but more often than not, it just served to make him feel worse. He didn't want to hear the pity in their voices, and then there was Rick. Stupid, selfish, brilliant Rick. Of all people, Morty hadn't been expecting him to change, hadn't been expecting Rick to pity him, in fact, he was hoping desperately for the opposite but of course, Morty never got what he wanted. After he had brought Morty home he had been looking at him differently. Even a year later, the looks hadn't changed. If anything, they'd gotten worse. He wasn't nearly as spiteful and sarcastic as he used to be. In any other situation it would have been a blessing but Morty hated it and above all, he feared it. He didn't want the genius to look down on him, to think he was weak and he couldn't stand the thought that he might even be disgusted with him. Morty stalked over to the vertical mirror hanging on his wall and ripped his shirt off to stare at his reflection. He wasn't surprised at what he saw. Though Morty, had gotten taller and sleeker as he grew, he'd been losing weight. He just couldn't bring himself to sleep or eat and he knew it was taking its toll on his body but why should he care. He winced slightly when he saw a litter of bright white scars that wrapped around his left side, down his hip and up his back. A memory suddenly, resurfaced of a man with a deep gravely voice and dark purple eyes beating him mercilessly with a whip while people laughed in the background. Morty felt anger rise up inside of him once again at the memory and he snarled loudly before lunging forward to punch the mirror in front of him. He didn't even flinch when it shattered into pieces and slashed his knuckles open. He drew back slowly and shakily and let his fist fall to his side. Blood dripped from his hands to the floor and stained the carpet but he couldn't care less. He collapsed down on to his bed and shoved his head into his hands.

There was a light knock at his door and he startled slightly. "Ye-yeah?" he called out clearing his throat. "Are you okay Morty? I heard a loud crash?" he recognized Summers voice instantly and he sighed, letting his head fall back into his hands. "Yeah. Im fine Sum, I just tripped over something and my mirror fell. Don't worry about it." He called out, slightly muffled by his hands covering his face. There was a moment of silence from the other side of the door and then Summer spoke up again. "Okay. If you need me I'll be in the kitchen." She said and Morty listened to her hesitate before walking away and down the steps.